Small plane crashes into Va. apartment, 2 hurt

HERNDON, Va. (AP) – Two people were taken to a hospital after a two-seat, single engine Cessna crashed into the living room of a third-story apartment outside Washington, Virginia State Police said Friday.

The plane crashed through the roof of the apartment building in Herndon after it had electrical problems and its engine cut off, and came to rest on the living room floor, police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. The tail of the plane poked through the roof and a window of the apartment appeared to be blown out.

David Ventura, who lives in the apartment with his family, was awakened by the loud crash and said he was shocked to discover a plane in his living room with two men crawling out asking if everyone was OK.

“That’s the last thing that is going to come to your mind,” he told WRC-TV.

Four adults and two children were asleep in the apartment at the time, Geller said. Ventura told WTTG-TV that one of his two children slept through the crash and had to be woken up.

The pilot was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital with serious injuries and his passenger’s minor injuries were treated at the scene. Ventura said his wife was shaken by the incident and was taken to the hospital, too.

The two men were taking infrared photographs for an aerial photography company, Geller said. They took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport and were headed to Manassas Regional Airport, but rerouted to Dulles when they ran low on fuel.

The Red Cross is helping about 20 people who were removed from the damaged building.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were investigating.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)